Police Use Pepper Spray to Disperse Protesters in Columbus

Police in Columbus, Ohio, issued a state of emergency downtown and used pepper spray and wooden pellets to disperse hundreds of protesters who gathered to demonstrate against the death of George Floyd on Saturday, May 30.

Activists held protests in several major cities across the US after video circulated of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pinning Floyd, a black 46-year-old, to the ground with his knee on Floyd’s neck on May 25. Floyd died soon after.

Chauvin, since fired by Minneapolis police, was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter on May 29.

Footage from The Ohio State University student newspaper The Lantern shows the scene in downtown Columbus as police attempted to disperse the hundreds of protesters.

Ohio Congresswoman Joyce Beatty and Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin were photographed trying to intervene between police and protesters. Credit: The Lantern via Storyful